The invention relates, generally, to safety shields and, more particularly, to a safety shield that can be quickly and easily installed in an excavated trench to protect against cave-ins.
In order to repair or install underground systems such as water and sewage pipes or electrical and utility lines, it is often necessary for workers to enter an excavated trench in the area where the pipes or lines are located. Because of the depths to which these trenches must be dug, a substantial risk of injury to the workers exists should the trench collapse. In fact, OSHA has estimated that more than 100 fatalities and 5,000 serious injuries occur annually due to trench cave-ins. In addition to the human loss, extensive property damage can also result.
As a result, a wide variety of safety devices for reinforcing and supporting excavated trenches have been developed. Examples of such devices can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,659,260, 4,114,383, 3,029,607, 2,956,409, 2,482,367. Unfortunately, these prior art devices can be expensive to manufacture and difficult to transport and assemble. Therefore, a trench safety shield that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to assemble, install and transport is desired.